Woman Breaks Everest Age Record

Watanabe, 73, reaches summit Saturday

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Seventy-three-year-old Japanese climber Tamae Watanabe on Saturday broke her own record as the oldest woman to summit Mount Everest. Watanabe set the previous record at age 63 in 2002. On Saturday morning, she summited with a Japanese partner and three guides from Asian Trekking. A 76-year-old Nepalese man holds the record for the oldest person to climb Everest. Watanabe and her team ascended from the Tibetan side of the mountain, and several climbers from the Nepalese side also reached the summit over the weekend.

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2012 Amgen Tour of California - Stage 8
Photo: channone/Flickr

Robert Gesink Wins Tour of California

Dutch rider returns to form after '11 crash

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On Sunday, Dutch cyclist Robert Gesink won the seven-day Amgen Tour of California after dominating the mountainous seventh stage on Mount Baldy. Gesink, 25, who rides for Rabobank, beat four-time Tour of California winner Dave Zabriskie, an American rider for Garmin-Barracuda, by 46 seconds. Gesink's win comes eight months after a serious crash in which he broke his femur in four places and two years after his father died in a cycling accident. "It's moments like this, when you have your good times and your wins, that's what you do it for," he said. Peter Sagan of Slovakia, who rides for Liquigas-Canondale, won five of eight stages, including the final leg with a surprise break just seconds before the finish.

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Everest Photo: Ivan Borisov/Flickr

Four Climbers Die on Everest

Altitude sickness blamed; fifth man missing

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At least four climbers are dead after a weekend of summit attempts on Mount Everest. German Eberhard Schaaf, 61, died from apparent altitude sickness Sunday at around 28,700 feet on the South Summit. South Korean Song Won-Bin, 44, who has been missing since Saturday, collapsed with acute mountain sickness and fell off a cliff at The Balcony at 27,600 feet. Nepali-born Canadian climber Shriya Shah, 33, died Sunday, and the body of 55-year-old Chinese climber Ha Wenyi was found near 28,200 feet. Neither cause of death has been confirmed. "Most of these deaths occur due to high-altitude sickness," Asian Trekking founder Ang Tshering Sherpa said. "Climbers spend their energy on the ascent and they are exhausted and fatigued on the descent." A Nepali guide was also reported missing on Saturday. Successful summits include Ueli Steck's climb without oxygen on Friday and 73-year-old Tamae Watanabe's ascent on Saturday. Watanabe is the oldest woman ever to climb the mountain.

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Mount McKinley Photo: Harvey Barrison/Flickr

Man Dies in Fall on McKinley

Climber tumbled 1,000 feet chasing pack

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An unidentified climber died Friday afternoon in Denali National Park after falling more than 1,000 feet on Mount McKinley. The climber slipped while trying to catch a sliding backpack during a rest break, according to the National Park Service. An NPS patrol was nearby when the fall occurred and called a helicopter to recover the climber's body 1,100 feet below on the Peters Glacier. The climber, whose identity will not be released until his family is notified, was with two other climbers and no guides. The death is the first of the season on Mount McKinley.